Explore the long tail (there are millions of people blogging, sharing, and posting online – and PR tends to pile on the same 100 “influentials”) “We want you to take 50 million of us as seriously as you take one reporter from The Wall Street Journal” (#83 of the 95 Theses from The Cluetrain Manifesto)

Spoil everyone (like you would Guy Kawasaki)

Be grateful (nobody is required to help you)

Why You Should Reach Past the A-List

Blogger outreach tends to focus on only identifying and engaging top-25 influential bloggers

Out of those 25, maybe 3 will cover your story over the course of a campaign

We collect every blogger who has ever had a thematic interest in our customers

We collect them all – all of them – into a “universe” – a list

We reach out to each and every one of them – no fewer than 2,000 but often 5,000 – via email

Generally professional bloggers and journalists, including the blogs and profiles of mainstream media platforms, celebrities, high Klout scores, high-traffic blogs, authors, actors, scientists, pundits, newsmakers, and people with mad followers

Will blog for free, but only if they’re compelled to (exclusive content, big news, financial releases, new investment, etc.)

Never, ever, include A-list bloggers in a bulk email pitch – hand-written onlyPrepare your kid-gloves and your checkbook – find ways to woo them personally (over lavish meals, inviting them to HQ, or meeting them down at one of the many conferences they attend)

Become a persistent “bestie” – either as someone who is a communicator pitching them good, consistent, and valuable content or, even better, a personal friend who doesn’t just collect them as a method of access or a sign of prestige

B-D-List (the mid-section of the long tail often asks for money)

While not all B-D-list bloggers lead with an advertising rate sheet, many do

Most PR campaigns aren’t budgeted for advertising spend so I don’t pay for posts

Ideally, earned-media is the goal of PR campaigns, so it’s up to you

Many of the B-D-list bloggers can get you what you need for less than a strong ad buy

While disclosures are essential everywhere, they’re doubly so for “advertorial” content

I tend to put any blogger who asks for money into a DNC* list

Midrange bloggers are easier to access, harder to garner earn media mentions from, but a worthy

investment of time and attention toward a long-term relationship

People help out their friends, so becoming close may curry favor for earned media pitches

I generally include B-D-list bloggers in general long-tail bulk email outreach

E-Z-List (the long-tail of the blogosphere, including ~1 Billion bloggers)

While a billion active blogs are well out-of-scope, please remember:

No matter how obscure your product or service, there’s probably a blog about it

The original Rule #34 is: “If it exists, there is porn of it;” same for the blogosphere

While I might be willing to chase down the contact info of A-D-list bloggers via forms or hunting them down via LinkedIn or Facebook Messenger, Dailymile mail, or Twitter DMs, I only engage long-tail bloggers if they share their email address gladly

If bloggers don’t make it easy to contact them, they may not want to be contacted; and, if you contact someone who doesn’t want to be, there will be serious blowback

Send everyone in your list a bulk email pitch but be ready to engage in person

Don’t worry, most people aren’t fanboys – a cold-pitch is fine if your “gift” is generous

Engage: Pitch It Slow and Right Over the Plate

Tell, don’t sell

Lead with the news, not the used car

Pitching is speed dating

You don’t need to overwrite

Allow people to be intrigued

Less is more

Attention span is limited

Pre-masticate message into easy-to-understand pabulum

Don’t include attachments or inline content

Don’t BS, brown nose, lie, or flatter

“Please don’t say you read and love my blog, then pitch me on something that I never cover here” — Mack Collier

Outreach: The Catch Is the More Important Part

The informational microsite

Internally, I call it an SMNR

Social Media News Release

The kitchen sink theory

Don’t limit the SMNR to just the pitch

Bloggers are libertarian contrarians

Give a lot to look through – give them options

Steal me, steal me!

Optimize content to be copied-and-pasted

Pre-embed embed codes

Pre-link and optimize for SEO, etc.

Outreach: The Magic Happens in the Inbox

Outreach: Yet Another Mail Merge

Analyze: It All Comes Down to the Bottom Line

Track using site analytics tools

Google Analytics tracking code in the SMNR

Server-side analytics tools: AWstats, Webalizer

Track both SMNR & target site

Track using media mention tools

I presently use SDL SM2 (Alterian SM2)

Primary, secondary, tertiary, etc., mentions

Lots of free and fee-based tools

Google Analytics is becoming more SM-savvy

Track using specialized landing pages

Using affiliate tricks-of-the-trade

Analyze: The Proof Is in the Pudding

Current Client: Skinny & Co. Coconut Oil

Currently, Gerris Corp is working on an earned media campaign for Skinny & Co. coconut oil.